‘For years now I have gone to the mountains and been astonished by deep time’.
(MacFarlane, 2003, p. 65).
Photograph of Siccar Point taken 31 October 2023 by Melissa Bradd.
‘Deep Time’ has fascinated people since the discovery of unconformity made by John Hutton in 1787 on Arran’s North Newton shore (Lothian and Borders GeoConservation, 2018).
Equally, the famous Siccar Point near Dunbar has attracted geologists from all over the world since Hutton and John Playfair discovered this distinctive example of deep time (BBC News, 2023). Unconformity is the distance between two rock formations from different ages that represent ‘missing time’, (McKirdy, Gordon, and Crofts, 2009; and Study.com, 2023). This discovery proved that the earth is 4.5 billion years old (Lothian and Borders GeoConservation, 2015). Below is a diagram outlining unconformity at Siccar Point.
The Scottish Borders James Hutton Trail, (Edinburgh Geological Society, 2018). Photograph of an image on an information board near Siccar Point taken by Melissa Bradd 31 October 2023.
From my first visit to Siccar Point in 2015 I recall the silence and awe sweeping in like a sleeping whisper of ethereal time. The formations of rock and swelling of artistic sculptures came alive with the ooze of water trickling over the pours of relative existence. The slippery sharp shards that shunted out were complimented by the smoothness of the formations they smothered. Returning recently to Siccar Point to contemplate deep time and the voyage of discovery, I ventured to the location where Hutton and his companions altered the common belief that Earth was created in 4004 BC (Lothian and Borders GeoConservation, 2018). The sounds, shapes and molecules captured my curiosity as much as the discovery made there. I considered our innate human need for expansion, and why we have this desire to discover more: or is it a desire to better understand ourselves, and existence above and beyond the physical realm.
Photograph taken at Siccar Point, 31 October 2023, by Melissa Bradd.
‘This (self) is never born; nor does it die. It is not that, having been, it ceases to exist again. It is unborn, eternal, undergoes no change whatsoever, and is ever new. When the body is destroyed, the self is not destroyed’. – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, verse 20. p. 28. (Arsha Vidya, 2007).
This Gita verse visited my mind many times during this exploration. What exists ‘beyond’ time? Vedic teachings take their students on a process of discriminative enquiry and negation, ‘neti neti’, ‘not this, not this’, and arrive at the realisation of what is eternal, (Pramananda, S and Chaitanya, S, 2011. p. 84). It reminded me of the discovery of deep time and how the absence of something proves its existence. What always has been and what always will be: existence itself (Pramananda and Chaitanya, 2011).
Hutton appeared to make a similar realisation in relation to relative time in his reflection:
‘The result, therefore, of our present enquiry is that we find no vestige of a beginning – no prospect of an end’ (Lothian and Borders GeoConservation, 2018) and (McKirdy, 2009 – James Hutton theory of the Earth, 1788). In addition, Playfair’s commentary resonated with his peer: “The mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time” - John Playfair (McKirdy, Gordon and Crofts, 2009. p. preface).
Deep time holds mystery for curious minds listening to the world through their senses. Musician and composer Nigel Osborne speaks of another ancient mystery in the way we understand sound relating to our auditory cortex to the first cell of life: the amoeba below the ocean. This single cell organism flexed the ocean currents responding to vibration in the same way our tympanic membrane ear drum does (Polar Music Prize, 2014). Osborne states there are two ways of thinking about time. One being, 1, 1, 1, 1 - representing eternal moment; and 1, 2, 3, 4, demonstrating moving in time. Following on from Hutton’s discoveries, Charles Lyell developed the principle that geological time may be cyclical. This could be represented by the second time example provided by Osborne.
Polar Music Prize (2014) Polar Music Talks 2014 – Nigel Osborne on Brain and Rhythm. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA2PKVLNx6E&t=3s
‘Time has become slippery, and a walk in the hills can make you dizzy. Suddenly I see trees everywhere: where they are not, where they have been, where they should be. It is a way of looking at landscape outside of time, as people closer to the earth have always done.’
(Rawlence, 2023. p. 5).
Here, Ben Rawlence offers another conceptual way of looking at time and landscape. In a sense it is an experiential matter for one to contemplate. Again, we see an example of the absence of something informing us of something. Rawlence compares the seconds on the ‘planetary clock’ to when the last ice age occurred, 10,000 years ago. A measure of earth is marked by ice ages in 100,000-year pulses. Due to the earth wobbling like a top, as opposed to spinning; a pulse effect is created. This is known as the Milankovitch cycle (Rawlence, 2023). Lyell’s cyclical principle, and this tilting of the earth cycle, can represent time through similar measurements (Charles Lyell Exhibition, 2023). Similarly, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s 2007 synthesizer-generated composition 'Klang,' incorporates twenty-four layers of melodic material based on each of the hours contained in the day (Stockhausen: Sounds in Space, no date). The thirteenth piece, 'Cosmic Pulses,' demonstrates how a representation of a pulse effect can be created. The mysterious measurement of time offers us a medium to explore how we relate to space, place and people. Transporting through time in geology, literature and art, can help us to contextualise and rationalise thought. Where Hutton made this discover of unconformity in 1787, and Lyell later establishing the theory of uniformitarianism, contemporary composers such as Stockhausen and the living composer, Shiori Ushi have responded with sonic art to help listeners connect to deep time in current time (Fruitmarket Warehouse, 2023). Artists such as these offer us the opportunity to connect with history on an experiential level by responding to the environment and theory.
Photograph taken by Siccar point 31 October 2023 by Melissa Bradd.
References:
Arsha Vidya Ashram. (2007) Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Chennai: Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust.
BBC News (2023) The man who discovered the ‘abyss of time’ – BBC news. 26 March 2023. Available at: https://youtu.be/esqxYO5vsEI?si=i0m69KxVa_Ll9UT8 (Accessed: 9 November 23).
Buis, A. (2020) Nasa: Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Their Role in Earth's Climate. Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2948/milankovitch-orbital-cycles-and-their-role-in-earths-climate (Accessed: 18 November 2023).
Charles Lyell Exhibition at Edinburgh University Library visited. (Visited: 8 November 23).
Clarke, P. (2023) The Quietus: Fruitmarket Edinburgh Unveils New Music Festival, Deep Time. Available at: https://thequietus.com/articles/33560-fruitmarket-edinburgh-deep-time-new-music-festival (Accessed: 18 November 2023).
Fruitmarket Warehouse. (2023) Deep Time: A Festival of New Music Programme [Pamphlet]. 19 November 2023.
Lothian and Borders GeoConservation (2016) Dunbar Geology Walk [Leaflet]. 3 November 2023.
Lothian and Borders GeoConservation (2018) James Hutton [Leaflet]. 3 November 2023.
Lothian and Borders, GeoConservation (2015) Siccar Point [Leaflet]. 3 November 2023.
MacFarlane, R. (2003). Mountains of the Mind. London: Granata Books.
McKirdy, A, Gordon, J, and Crofts, R. (2009) Land of Mountain and Flood. Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited.
Polar Music Prize (2014) Polar Music Talks 2014 – Nigel Osborne on Brain and Rhythm. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA2PKVLNx6E&t=3s (Accessed: 9 October 23).
Rawlence, B. (2023) The Treeline. UK: Penguin Randon House.
Pramananda, S, and Chaitanya, S. (2011) Purna Vidya. UK: Purna Vidya Trust. (printed by Ratna Offset Printers, Chennai.
Siccar Point Visit (Visited: 31 October 23).
Stockhausen: Sounds in Space (no date) ‘Cosmic Pulses’, Stockhausen: Sounds in Space. Available at: https://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/03/cosmic-pulses.html (Accessed 23 November 23).
Study.com (2023) Unconformities in Geology | Definition, Types & Examples. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/unconformities-in-geology-definition-types-quiz.html (Accessed: 28 November 23).
Scottish Geology Trust. (no date) Siccar Point: Stare into James Hutton’s ‘abyss of time’. Available at: https://www.scottishgeologytrust.org/geology/51-best-places/siccar-point/ (Accessed: 19 November 23).
Uploader of Many Things (2021) BBC Men of Rock 1 of 3 Deep time. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaitlLpcDo8 (Accessed: 9 October 23).
Comments